Chapter 10

The next day, the Penal Unit entered the training ground for the first time.

Until now, we hadn’t been able to use it because other knight orders were occupying it.

Commander Burger ordered us to each find a weapon and a sparring partner.

The training ground was noisy. Some were excited just to hold wooden swords, while others treated the place like a playground.

Among them, a few were busy mocking me when they saw my face.

“Look at that guy.”

“Heard the Balon boys beat him up?”

“So much for being from the Allen family; he’s nothing special.”

“With that size difference, it’s no wonder.”

I did my best to ignore their whispers.

Early this morning, I’d received treatment from Scholar Crellin and was now wrapped in bandages.

But more uncomfortable than the wounds under the bandages was the neck that Vivian had choked yesterday.

“...”

Feeling uneasy, I kept touching my neck.

Burger shouted.

“Alright, alright! Move quickly! Grab your weapons and find a partner to start sparring!”

I looked around the Penal Unit and spotted Balon, Willas, and Martin—the ones who shared my room and had beaten me up yesterday.

They were all snickering as they looked at me.

I approached a wooden box on one side of the training ground.

Various weapons were laid out.

Naturally, I picked up the weapon I was most accustomed to—The weapon wielded by the men of the Allen family.

A two-handed sword.

Then I approached Balon, Willas, and Martin and said,

“Pick up your weapons.”

“Young master, are you alright? Your face looks different from yesterday,” they said, laughing mockingly.

Just then, Burger shouted,

“Salute the Lady!”

—Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the command, the entire Penal Unit saluted the person approaching the training ground.

It was Vivian Londor.

Her flaming red hair stood out even from afar.

Perhaps recalling yesterday’s events, my heart thumped loudly.

She observed us from a distance outside the training ground.

The Penal Unit whispered among themselves.

“Why... did she come here?”

“Did she come to watch over us?”

“Isn’t this the first time?”

Meanwhile, I made eye contact with Vivian.

She seemed to have spotted me in the crowd by my black hair.

We locked eyes for a long moment.

Her gaze was definitely different from usual.

Sharp eyes filled with a vivid gleam.

Though she had seemed distant when I left yesterday, now there was a strong presence about her.

“Resume training!”

At those words, I looked back at the trio.

“Hurry up and pick up your weapons.”

As Vivian’s gaze fell upon me, my competitive spirit ignited as well.

The fact that she, who usually stayed cooped up in her room, came looking for me here meant she also had a competitive spirit similar to mine.

So I just needed to show her that I was standing firm.

If I suffered enough that she felt ashamed of crying over her own problems, then perhaps my heart wouldn’t feel as uneasy as it did when she spoke of death.

The trio, despite my words, dawdled and slowly picked up their weapons one by one.

Martin, the one with many pimples, was the first.

“Kylo Allen, I know you’re upset, but calm down, okay? If you don’t want to get beaten like yesterday. After all, you’re only 14, small and weak—what are you relying on—”

—Smack!!

“Argh!!”

Martin grabbed his ankle and rolled on the ground.

I had succeeded in pulling Vivian out of her room, but it was also clear that I had become her complete enemy.

That alone made my inexplicable frustration reach its peak.

I needed somewhere to vent.

I looked at the trio.

I might lose in a fistfight, but with a sword, I was confident.

I took a deep breath.

“...I guess I’m late in greeting you too?”

****

“I surrender...! Ouch!!! I surrender!!! I said I surrender!!”

“Get up!! I’m not accepting it!!”

Vivian quietly watched the training ground from afar.

There was Kylo Allen, vigorously beating a Penal Unit recruit with a wooden sword.

Around him, swinging his sword while shouting, about a dozen young soldiers lay sprawled out.

All of them had crossed swords with him, gotten severely beaten, and surrendered.

Even though Kylo Allen was the eldest son of a knightly family, the result was unexpected.

Because Kylo’s body was not in normal condition.

Vivian, who had seen him closer than anyone else last night, knew this.

The bedsheets where Kylo had briefly lain were so soaked with blood they needed changing.

Moreover, Kylo’s build was considerably smaller compared to other recruits in the Penal Unit.

The young soldiers, averaging 16 to 17 years old, were at the end of their growth spurts, whereas Kylo Allen, at 14, was just entering adolescence.

And Kylo was probably small even among 14-year-olds.

Even now, his build was similar to Vivian’s.

Vivian had heard that Northerners were usually large in stature.

She knew that creatures growing in cold regions are generally bigger.

That’s why the white bear, a symbol of the Allen family, is twice as large as the southern black bear.

Northern dragons are said to have tails longer by one segment than those of the south.

Without realizing it, Vivian asked,

“...I heard that Northerners are... big-bodied.”

Understanding her question immediately, Head Butler Pippin replied.

“Yes. Among them, the men of the Allen family are said to grow especially large. Jade Allen, the undefeated knight, is reportedly a head taller than the average Northerner.”

“But... Ky-Kylo Allen is...”

“Not that big, right? That’s quite common, actually.”

“Pardon?”

“They’re born small... but they shoot up during adolescence. Now that the eldest son of the Allen family has entered his growth spurt... well, it seems he’ll grow rapidly.”

“...”

‘Afraid of adults? Then go ahead and crumble. I’ll endure. Just five more years. By then, no one will dare look me in the eye.’

Even now, Kylo Allen was knocking down people bigger than himself.

If his body grew larger than others’, it seemed unlikely that his words from yesterday would prove false.

Maybe that’s why—it felt like everything else he’d said might come true as well.

At that moment, Kylo Allen glanced back at Vivian.

“...”

Vivian unconsciously swallowed hard.

But she didn’t avert her eyes.

Recalling the insult to her family she’d heard last night, she simply couldn’t.

“Next!”

Kylo Allen demanded his next opponent.

To Vivian, his actions seemed to say, “Watch me.”

As if he were telling her he’d show just how strong he was.

“...”

Honestly, Vivian was shaken.

If she were in Kylo Allen’s position, could she do the same?

Could she, in less-than-optimal condition, knock down over a dozen opponents stronger and bigger than herself?

Setting aside whether it was possible, would she even have the will to try?

‘Seeing your weakness... your family must be the same.’

Kylo Allen’s words echoed in her mind.

Vivian clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth.

The more her fierce hatred for Kylo grew, the stronger her resolve became.

She never wanted to show weakness to her enemy, Kylo Allen—not even in death.

Just thinking that he might secretly look down on her family ignited a fury she couldn’t suppress.

Pippin spoke to Vivian.

“Lady Vivian, it’s time to go inside. Madame Linne will be here shortly.”

In the past, her heart would sink whenever this moment arrived.

“Yes.”

But not today.

Today, she wasn’t afraid.

Frustrating as it was, Kylo Allen was moving forward just as he’d said.

If she stood still, he’d soon be far ahead, mocking her.

She couldn’t bear such a future. She couldn’t be outdone by the likes of the Allen family.

So Vivian steeled herself.

Gathering her resolve, she prepared to face Madame Linne.

***

—Smack!!

Vivian didn’t utter a single groan despite the searing pain.

“The Central Church strictly prohibits the su-survival of witches. Th-they worship d-demons—”

—Smack!

No matter how hard Madame Linne swung the cane, Vivian made sure not to change her expression.

Perhaps because of these subtle changes, Madame Linne’s irritation seemed to lessen, and her strikes felt gentler than usual to Vivian.

She wasn’t certain.

Maybe her hardened heart made the punishment feel less painful.

“W-witches who worship d-demons survive by p-passing down through generations—”

“That will be all.”

Madame Linne clapped her hands, signaling the end of the lesson.

Vivian set down the book and let out a shallow sigh.

Both her arms were numb and throbbing, but she didn’t feel as utterly wronged as before.

Her anger toward Kylo Allen blurred any sense of injustice.

Madame Linne spoke.

“Your stuttering hasn’t improved at all. We’ll need to consider whether it’s incurable or if there’s another underlying issue.”

“...”

“Lady Vivian, when did you say you began stuttering?”

“...A-after my mother fell ill.”

“Before that, you didn’t?”

“...I’m not s-sure. It’s not that I n-never stuttered...”

“But it worsened after the Duchess fell ill?”

Vivian nodded.

Maintaining her poised posture, Madame Linne pondered before asking again.

“...Could it be because you lost someone you relied on?”

Vivian couldn’t answer a question she didn’t know the answer to.

Come to think of it, last night... there was a moment when she didn’t stutter.

When her anger toward Kylo Allen grew almost unbearable, her words flowed smoothly.

Not that it was helpful information.

She couldn’t always walk around being so angry her head might explode.

Still, the fact that there had been a moment when she didn’t stutter brought her a faint hope.

Maybe someday she could fix this damn way of speaking.

While Vivian continued her thoughts alone, Madame Linne asked.

“Lady Vivian, do you have someone you can rely on?”

“...”

Interpreting her silence as a ‘no,’ she continued.

“If not, how about finding someone?”

“...”

Vivian barely held back a hollow laugh.

Someone to rely on? Does such a person even exist?

Everyone in Rondor Castle looked at her with hostile eyes.

They watched her as if ready to pull her down at any moment.

Contempt, disgust, and frustration… they always had such feelings.

She knew that much, even if she was young. She hadn’t learned much yet, but she wasn’t oblivious.

Rather, since the only thing she could do now was read the room, she reacted even more sensitively.

As the head of the Rondor family, there was no one in this castle she could trust.

If there had been, she wouldn’t be struggling like this, nor would she have shown such a disgraceful side to Kylo Allen yesterday.

From the beginning, it was Madame Linne who told her to hide her weaknesses.

Can you rely on someone while hiding even your vulnerabilities?

Can you say you rely on someone you can’t reveal your weaknesses to?

But Vivian didn’t voice such doubts.

Instead,

“Yes. I’ll... t-try.”

She showed agreement with Madame Linne.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

Madame Linne bid farewell to Vivian and stood up.

Having gained some free time, Vivian moved to the window.

Today, she decided to soothe her weary heart by looking at the scenery outside, as always.

...Or perhaps, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go see how that hateful Kylo Allen was getting through his day.

It wasn’t an empty promise when she told him she’d show him that living would be harder.

She knew he was making an effort.

But she doubted whether he was really living a life as hard as hers.

So she intended to check his day, and if he was suffering less than she was, she would make it equal.

She wanted to see if he could still say the same things as yesterday after that.

But as Madame Linne was leaving the room, she spoke to Vivian.

“Your stuttering is still the same, but your attitude today was really good.”

It was praise for not uttering a single groan.

Madame Linne, seeming more curious, blinked and asked.

“...Is there any change, perhaps?”

“...”

Vivian thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“There isn’t.”

She didn’t want to reveal her inner thoughts to Madame Linne.

Didn’t she tell her not to show weakness?

She couldn’t tell her that she had cried while fighting with Kylo Allen, that she had burst out with emotions.

She didn’t want to, either.

“I see.”

Madame Linne nodded slightly. Then she really left the room this time.

Vivian was lost in thought again.

Come to think of it, yesterday she had shown weakness a lot for the first time in a long while.

She had poured out how hard it was for her, how frustrated she was.

Maybe that’s why she felt somewhat relieved.

“...”

...Although there was a minor issue that the person who heard her weakness was Kylo Allen.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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